It’s happened almost every April for 25 years and this year is no exception.
Once again, Oxford High School will be sending two talented auto students to the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition to be held Wednesday, April 13 at the Macomb Community College Expo Center in Warren.
Seniors Conner Booth and Nick Welch were among the top 10 two-person teams from across Michigan who scored highest on the competition’s written qualifying exam taken on-line back in February.
‘It’s everything to me,? Booth said. ‘I studied hard for months and I made it. It’s a great learning opportunity.?
‘I never thought I was going to make it,? Welch said. ‘I’m glad I’ll have an opportunity to represent Oxford High School and to get scholarship money.?
‘I had my eye on Conner, but Nick came out of nowhere,? said OHS Auto Instructor Dan Balsley. ‘I was surprised and real pleased.?
Booth and Welch will compete against teams from nine other schools at the state finals in a hands-on competition that will require each team to diagnose and repair identical electrical and mechanical defects (i.e. bugs) purposely placed in a 2012 Ford Mustang.
Repairs must be made with the highest quality workmanship in the lowest total time.
The team with the fewest demerits for workmanship and the best combined score for repair time and written exam will be declared the winner.
Unfortunately, the deck is stacked against Oxford in this year’s competition given, unlike previous years, they never received a manual for the vehicle they’ll be working on and they can’t get a hold of a car to practice on because the 2012 Mustang isn’t available at dealerships yet.
Add to that, Booth and Welch won’t have much time to practice. They weren’t informed they had qualified for the competition until a couple days before spring break, which means no school (or auto class) April 4-8.
But Balsley isn’t letting any of this stop him from giving his students as much help as he can.
‘I’m going to try to meet with the kids through spring break,? he said. ‘It kind of changes all of our spring break plans.?
After graduating OHS, Booth plans to attend Baker College to get his associate’s degree as an automotive technician and a bachelor’s degree in automotive business/management.
Welch was originally planning to study psychology at Oakland Community College and Wayne State University, but now he’s rethinking things and looking into career options in the automotive field. him from giving his students as much help as he can.
‘I’m going to try to meet with the kids through the spring break,? he said. ‘It kind of changes all of our spring break plans.?
After graduating OHS, Booth plans to attend Baker College to get his associate’s degree as an automotive technician and a bachelor’s degree in automotive business/management.
Welch was originally planning to study psychology at Oakland Community College and Wayne State University, but now he’s rethinking things and looking into career options in the automotive field.

It would almost be easier to report when students from Oxford High School’s Auto Technology program don’t make it to the state finals of the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition.
During his 24 years of teaching, instructor Dan Balsley’s sent 21 teams of young mechanics to the state finals and three to the national finals.
Proudly representing OHS this year will be senior Chad Angeli and junior Tom Mersino, both of whom are taking Auto Technology II.
They received the highest combined score in the entire state on the competition’s written qualifying exam taken back in February.
‘I was pretty surprised,? Mersino said.
Balsley was surprised as well.
‘I had so many good students that in any combination could have qualified for state finals,? he said. ‘I really wasn’t sure who was going to end up going.?
Angeli and Mersino will compete against nine other two-man teams in the hands-on state finals to be held April 28 at the Macomb Community College Expo Center in Warren.
‘For the first time ever, they’re giving us our rank going into it, which is nice to know. We’re off to a good start,? Balsley said.
During the competition, each team will be given a 2010 Mercury Milan with identical malfunctions to diagnose and repair within 90 minutes. Repairs must be made with the highest quality workmanship in the lowest total time.
‘Not only is it speed, but also accuracy,? Balsley said. ‘The first one done isn’t necessarily the winner. It has to be a clean car.?
The team with the fewest quality-of-workmanship demerits and the best combined score for repair time and written exam will be declared the winner.
Angeli and Mersino have already started practicing on a 2010 Ford Fusion ? the Milan’s sister car ? that’s on-loan from Skalnek Ford in Orion Township.
Balsley’s purposely creating malfunctions in the Focus for the students to find and repair.
Both Angeli and Mersino are considering careers in the automotive field.
Mersino wishes to attend a technical school, possibly the Michigan Institute of Technology in Lapeer, after OHS and become an auto mechanic.
Angeli is joining the Marines in June. After he leaves the military, he’s thinking about an automotive-related career.
‘If I could choose, I’d be working on 4×4 trucks,? he said.